Temptation...How do you fight it?

nanaBeth55
nanaBeth55 Posts: 24
edited September 2024 in Motivation and Support
Yeah, I know. You thought I was talking about tempting food. Nope. How do I fight the temptation to take the quick weight loss path? I've lost 15 lbs and it's taken me 60 days to do it. Doing the math, I figured out that I'm losing 1/4 of a pound a day (average). Hmmm. I was okay with that and then I read an article by this man who writes the weight loss programs losing weight the French way - quick and long lasting, etc. blah, blah, blah.

I was so tempted to try it....for about a millisecond. THEN, I thought better of it. I've done all the weight loss programs - ALL of them - trying to lose weight FAST. What has it gotten me? FAT. I will follow the program to the letter, lose tons of weight (greatest loss - 67 lbs) and then when I return to my old eating habits after the great loss, I gradually gain the weight back and more. Once I even wore a single digit size....for about 15 minutes....now here I am...size 16W because plain 16s are usually too snug in the hips and my womanly thighs!
I don't want to take the fast track any longer. I don't want to follow a diet. Is that okay? Can I really continue to lose weight slowly by counting my calories, exercising when I can and tracking it all?
Can I?
I need to know.
I want to lose the weight and keep it off this time. Life's too short for me to do all this work and have to do it again!!

Replies

  • Elleinnz
    Elleinnz Posts: 1,661 Member
    This is my philosophy - if I do it slow and steady I should be able to keep it off - and the biggest reason - I am living a lifestyle I can cope with long term..... I am eating heaps - I am not spending all my time in the gym...

    I could workout 2 hours 5 or 6 times a week, and I will see the benefits on the scale - but can I do 2 hours 5 or 6 times a week for the rest of my life...... realistically no - so I am in the gym 1 hour 2 - maybe 3 times a gym - cause that I can do for the rest of my life!!

    Same with my eating - I am eating lots - and healthy - I am eating more protein than MFP says - cause that is what I need to not get cravings!!

    So I like your attitude - dont get caught up in the hype of all the "fast loss programmes" - good on them - but I think in the end of the day I wil be successfull in keeping it off, because I am changing my lifestyle!!
  • Sta83cy
    Sta83cy Posts: 14
    I understand what you're going through I have the same struggle, but this time around I have decided no more diets! I am officially making a lifestyle change. I don't want to deny myself all of the guilty pleasures for the rest of my life. I can't. I know my down falls and I've accepted that, if I want Mcdonald's I'm going to eat Mcdonald's. But I am learning to make healthier choices, I'm starting by going to whole wheat and higher fiber foods, I'm using ground turkey instead of ground beef all the time. I'm making queso and mac 'n' cheese(I love cheese and these are my 2 faves!) from scratch using cream cheese and lower fat cheese instead of quick and easy. And I'm exercising in ways that I'll continue to do, not just for a month. I'm finding I'm not "binging" and I'm enjoying my actual 1/2 cup of lower calorie ice cream a lot more. I'm really working on my portion control, I don't want to count calories, points, carbs, etc. for the rest of my life. But actually enjoy my food and not gorge myself. I have lost over 25 pounds by doing this and I know that I can maintain this and continue on with the weight loss struggle. I want to be proactive for my health, and do everything in my power to postpone and hopefully never get all the health conditions I have in my family. So I say embrace your temptations if you are always denying yourself you're going to feel negative and discouraged whenever you fail, but if you learn how to either find a healthier substitute or just portion it then you have no reason to get down. So I say...NO MORE DIETS!
  • jb_2011
    jb_2011 Posts: 1,029 Member
    I guess the way to fight the temptation is to realize it never worked before and it'll be the same thing if you try it again. I'm in the same boat. Up, down, up, down....but now I can honestly say at 56 years old I'm learning to eat right for the first time in my life, and when I feel hungry I don't binge or grab for fast foods, I actually nourish my body like I should have been doing all along.

    I'm tracking potassium, making sure I get enough and have been including omega-3s on a daily basis, plus I've finally gotten comfortable with water intake and am up to 9 a day. I'm going low on dairy and breads, 2 things that I used to pig out on, especially cheese. And I baked my own bread for years, and of course had to eat half the loaf the same day. Haven't gotten the courage to bake bread in the last 6 months, but this too shall pass.

    For me a lot of this whole thing is attitude, and if we feed our bodies the proper nutrients, voila! we feel better! Who whoulda thunk it. I never really thought it made any difference. So now I feel better physically and mentally, and that's what's so amazing. I've been on MFP for almost 6 months and cannot begin to tell you how many hours I've spent researching nutrients and calories. I'm reading a nutrition book and really paying attention for once. My food choices have changed immensely. My support team has been incredible and I love knowing I'm not the only one with this stinking problem, lol.

    It's a work of art, learning how to eat right. But it's never too late to learn. :drinker:

    P.S. YES, you can! I'm probably the most stubborn mule there is, and if I can do it, so can you.
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